Kyrgyzstan, Parliamentary Elections, 4 October 2020: Needs Assessment Mission Report

Following an invitation from the authorities of the Kyrgyz Republic to observe the 4 October 2020 parliamentary elections, and in accordance with its mandate, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) undertook a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) from 20 to 27 July 2020. The ODIHR NAM included Alexey Gromov, ODIHR Senior Election Adviser, and Kakha Inaishvili, ODIHR Election Adviser. The ODIHR NAM was joined by Manuchekhr Salokhudinov, Programme Officer of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. The purpose of the mission was to assess the pre-election environment and preparations for the elections. Based on this assessment, the NAM recommends whether to deploy an ODIHR election-related activity for the forthcoming elections, and if so, what type of activity best meets the identified needs. Due to the global health emergency and consecutive introduction of restrictions on cross-border travel throughout the OSCE region, the NAM was conducted remotely, using the means of information and communication technologies. This approach was chosen due to the current extraordinary situation and in view of the need to ensure sufficient time for the preparation of the possible deployment of an election-related activity for the 4 October elections. Meetings were held with officials from state institutions, as well as representatives of political parties, media, civil society, and the international community. A list of meetings is annexed to this report.